Etymograph

English

nomisma

Nomisma comes from Ancient Greek νόμισμα ‘custom’, from νέμω ‘to distribute’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nem-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nem-1root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ném-e-ti2‘to assign, allot’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*némō2reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνέμω1‘to distribute’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνόμος1‘custom’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνομίζω1‘to use customarily’
  7. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνόμισμα1nómisma‘custom’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2022nomisma1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English nomisma
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek νέμω
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2022, Vladimir Penchev: “The silver miliarensia from that era were minted exclusively…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nem-Wiktionary, English nomismaroot named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ném-e-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek νέμω‘to assign, allot’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*némōWiktionary, Ancient Greek νέμωreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνέμωWiktionary, English nomisma‘to distribute’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνόμοςWiktionary, English nomisma‘custom’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνομίζωWiktionary, English nomisma‘to use customarily’
  7. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνόμισμαWiktionary, English nomismanómisma‘custom’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2022nomismaWiktionary, English nomisma. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2022, Vladimir Penchev: “The silver miliarensia from that era were minted exclusively…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *nem-

number, numerous, numb, innumerable, numeric, nim, numeral, enumeration, numeracy, nomadic, numero, enumerate, nomad, naam, numerator, luma, 23 more

through Ancient Greek νέμω ‘to distribute’

noma, 7 more

through Ancient Greek νόμος ‘custom’

nome, nomos, 6 more

through Ancient Greek νομίζω ‘to use customarily’

numismatics

through Ancient Greek νόμισμα ‘custom’

numismatic, 1 more

Today it means

noun Money or currency (modern).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nomisma”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek νέμω. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *nem- / nomisma

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